My Favorite Albums
Submitted by jim on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 10:19
Tags:
- Forosoco by The Bacon Brothers
- Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris
- Red Dirt Girl by Emmylou Harris
- Gotta Get Over Greta by The Nields
- Tracy Chapman, self-titled
- New Beginning by Tracy Chapman
- Truth and Soul by Fishbone
- Reality of my Surroundings by Fishbone
- Hush by Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma
- Roots Revisited by Maceo Parker
- Tales From the Acoustic Planet by Bela Fleck
- Ah Um by Charles Mingus
- Unplugged in New York by Nirvana
- Appalachia Waltz by Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Conner
- Us by Peter Gabriel
- Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World by Johnny Clegg and Savuka
- The Trinity Session by The Cowboy Junkies
- Flood by They Might be Giants
- Smash by Offspring
- Universal Mother by Sinead O'Connor
Author Comments:
These are in no particular order, and cover a pretty wide range. Not quite as wide a range as I'd like just yet, but I'm still young.
2/10/03: This list is a bit dated, but it's holding up okay.
What? No Body Count? Crimedy Slade, no list is complete without it!
I have to confess, I've never listed to that album anywhere except your house. :-) 'Course, that's probably because I don't own it.
I'm glad to see Crush by The Dave Matthews Band on your list, but what about Under the Table and Dreaming or Before These Crowded Streets?
I liked those too, but not quite as much as Crash, or the other albums on this list (I think). Still, you now have me considering it. I might have to add them. We'll see...
I was surprised to see the Bacon Brothers album on here. When they first came I assumed they were a vanity project (ala Dogstar), but I've heard good things from a couple of different people about them. How would you describe their music?
Also, I totally agree on the inclusion of Wrecking Ball and the Trinity Sessions; those are two great albums.
Johnny Waco
I believe Forosoco is supposed to be a concatenation of Folk, Rock, Soul, and Country. From your lists (and I had no idea there were so many rock genres until I saw your lists), I'm thinking "Folk-Rock". However, I'm fuzzy on what "Rockabilly" is; can you give me some examples?
And yeah, because of Kevin Bacon's association with the band, I think everybody assumed it was a vanity project. However, his brother (Michael) was a serious musician (perhaps a Grammy winner, even?) long before they started the band. I've gotten alot of mileage out of Forosoco. Their second album hasn't really grabbed me yet, but I haven't given it much of a chance.
Wrecking Ball might be my favorite album of all time. But I get weak in the knees every time I come close to locking myself in so thoroughly. So I'll stick with might be for now.
Nothing like responding a year later, is there Jim? I apologize.
I still haven't heard Forosoco, so I can't really give you some sort of genre label (and I don't want to sound like labels are important; there are times I simply want to say I like "Rock"), but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be rockabilly. Rockabilly was a 50s genre from the likes of early Elvis and Carl Perkins. A real hillbilly, country beat that had some twangy guitars and amped up lyrics; kind of a precursor to rock and roll. In the 80s, the Stray Cats did a sort of neo-rockabilly.
From your description, Forosoco could be folk-rock, americana, or just plain ol' rock 'n' roll. I'm still meaning to give it a listen at some point.
Johnny Waco
Certainly no apologies necessary! And certainly not Rockabilly. :-) You'll have to let me know when you listen to it. Hey, I haven't tried it, but it looks like the whole album is currently online (and legally at that).
Jim, I will forgive the Dave Mathews listing because you have Johnny Clegg here. I love that album and when I get home I am going to have to play it. Some nice stuff on this list including the Emmylou and The Nields.
:-) Will you cut me additional slack on the DMB front if I tell you I was a student in Charlottesville when they were just a club band that played for $5 every Tuesday night? They put on a good show.
And you'll probably be pleased to hear that it while it would be mostly impossible for me to rank this list, I can safely say I'd put Crash and Smash at the very bottom. But I wouldn't remove them yet. Maybe after a couple more years of not listening to them.
I don't have much interest in their recent stuff, but The Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions is one of my all time favorites. I discovered them during a dark period in my life. I'm not sure if Trinity Sessions helped or hurt...
The Trinity Sessions are probably the only Cowboy Junkies I listen to with any regularity, so I'm with ya. Have you listened to Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball? It's vaguely similar in mood, and is an absolutely terrific album that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone. In fact, if I were forced to pick a favorite album, that would be it.
I like Wrecking Ball quite a bit! I guess my favorite fantasy would have to be Emmylou whispering in one ear while Margo Timmins whispers in the other...
Oh great, now it's my fantasy too. And I really need to get some work done today. :-)
I've heard only 3 of your favorite albums, and am having a hard time coming up with a recommendation. I'll get you yet! Care to update this list any?
I should probably convert this list to favorite artists rather than albums, as that seems to be more the way my mind works. I'm too swamped right now for an overhaul, but right off the top of my head I'm currently enjoying Green Day, The Drive-By Truckers, and The White Stripes quite a bit. And I have far too many Avril Lavigne songs stuck in my head thanks to my 8-year-old.
Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise - Blackwater Surprise (1996)
Oo, that looks/sounds very promising! Thanks!